Class Dojo for Middle School

Middle school students are different than elementary and high school students. They want to be independent and still have the safety of knowing the adults in their life will catch them when they fall. Parents are trying to learn how to balance this new desire for freedom and still keep them protected.

When I started teaching, parents were different. The world was different. Over time, parents and the world have begun treating their children different. Students came from elementary school where communication was constantly ongoing with daily reports of their child’s behavior and academics to a middle school where parents are trying to navigate the new freedom with multiple teachers. Middle school teachers don’t have the time to communicate the way elementary teachers do. Parents want to let their kids learn their freedom and learn to self-advocate but also desire some type of information from the teacher on an ongoing basis. Class Dojo can be used to help parents navigate the new world of middle school. Here are some ways to utilize it in the middle school classroom:

~Pictures! You can post pictures like a Facebook feed but with much more privacy as the teacher controls who joins the class. Teachers can post individual student pictures directly to the parent through the child’s feed or to the whole class feed. I have used this function to post pictures of a class field trip and engaging lessons in the classroom. The parents have enjoyed seeing their child and what their child’s day was like in the pictures. We live in a visual society today and parents being able to see what is occurring helps them have something to talk about with their child that evening. It helps to make the parents feel more connected to the classroom. And this only takes seconds!

~Daily record of behavior. Class Dojo works on a point system that is created by the teacher. Students in my room receive positive points for turning in their homework, turning in their classwork, participating, helping others, as well as receiving certain citizenship points in our citizenship program. A student has the clipboard and checks off who has done the homework each day. When students finish the classwork they check back in with that student (after checking with me) to get checked off for the classwork assignment. The data collection is completely student ran. Any of the data collected does not go into the gradebook. When I am ready to collect the week’s homework or the day’s classwork, they still have to turn it in to me so I can review it and put in the gradebook. You can also set it up to have negative points for the students that misbehave or don’t complete their work. The points take about 5-7 minutes each class to enter if done through the app on the smartphone. The app is easier to enter the points than the website.

~True two-way communication for today’s world. Parents can send me an instant message letting me know why their child will be absent. They can also check in to see how their child is doing through the day. I had a student who had a rough morning at home and the parent wanted to know if the home situation impacted the child’s school day. I was able to immediately reply that it didn’t and put the parent at ease. The parents are also able to ask simply easy questions. I have even had parents send me a quick message requesting a conference that I then emailed the counselor to contact the parents to set this up. The program is an app and so all communication is done through the app without the parents or teachers having each other’s cell phone numbers. Parents and teachers can communicate through the messaging feature which is just like texting with ease. Saves the parents and teachers time of having to draft an email or calling. Some teachers may worry about parents sending messages at all hours. My experience says no. Parents respect the boundary of work is work and home is home. I have told my parents that I will not respond to messages past a certain time at night. I have only had one parent contact me after school hours and it was just to let me know why the student would be absent the next day. Teachers can also choose whether to open the app and respond or respond at a letter time. I have also used the posting feature to upload flyers that get passed out at school. I have also posted when I would be out so the parents are aware their child had a sub.

When I first looked at Class Dojo many years ago, I thought it was way more geared toward elementary. However, I have found this year, it can be tailored for whatever grade you teach. I was also afraid in the beginning of the time I would need to make it successful. With the students taking ownership of the data collection, it has barely taken any time. It has helped prevent numerous emails from parents trying to figure out what is going on in the class. It connected them to my classroom and gave them something to talk about in the evening. It has saved me time in the way of preventing frustrating emails from parents about the classroom and their child.

I am a 7th grade Math & Science teacher at Voyager Middle School. This is my 12th year teaching and my 5th year teaching in Washington. I hold a BA in Journalism, MAT in Middle School Math and an Ed.S. in Educational Leadership. I am happy to be a teacher leader.

I enjoy hiking in the summer and traveling around the state with my 3 children and husband.

The opinions expressed by the CORElaborate Bloggers, guest bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of the Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD), Ready Washington or any employee thereof. PSESD is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the Washington State Teacher Leader or Guest Bloggers.

About Alissa Brazil

I am a 7th grade Math & Science teacher at Voyager Middle School. This is my 12th year teaching and my 5th year teaching in Washington. I hold a BA in Journalism, MAT in Middle School Math and an Ed.S. in Educational Leadership. I am happy to be a teacher leader.

I enjoy hiking in the summer and traveling around the state with my 3 children and husband.

Comments

I have used Classdojo with 6th graders and it worked well with them and their parents. Back then I was using Classdojo for behavior and Remind for updates. When I found Bloomz, that did both those things and more all in one app I switched. Now I’ve been using Bloomz and I’m using it this year with my 6th grade families and my 8th grade families. Both love it so parents are being kept in the loop! Communication, sharing what kids are doing, and regular behavior updates are invaluable in a home and school partnership and these apps make it very doable for teachers!

I love Class Dojo! Best classroom management tool I have ever used. I have linked my Class Dojo to our PBIS and school wide discipline plan at school. When we give a student a reminder/warning, they get a 0 point that says redirect. If a student continues and does a reflection form, students get a minus 2 and if they get an office referral it is minus 5. Our school expectations are safe, hardworking, accountable, respectful and kind (shark) and so our positive points are listed as those expectations. We award tickets that can be redeemed in the store so for every point they receive a ticket. The kids like to save these for class parties. My parents love it because I post pictures weekly of things we are doing in class and sharing funny stories. They also love being able to see how their student is doing. The reports are also great to share at conferences. Have you tried all the toolkit items? I absolutely love the group maker, countdown clock, and randomizer.

As a parent, I love Class Dojo. And I’m not sure if this is a perk, but my kids (who are admittedly very extrinsically motivated) also love for me to see their days of “perfect” behavior. The days of not-so-perfect behavior lead to conversations about blurting, being tardy and forgetting homework.

Is there a similar interface that isn’t so kid-like? I wouldn’t be opposed to trying this with a squirrely 8th or 9th grade group at times if so…

I have been wondering about the application of this app for middle level. I had the same hesitation over trying it out, but I might give it a go now. I do have remind set up for my class. Could this replace that app in addition to the points function?

YES!!!! I have used remind but it didn’t help me with the simple communication with parents. I have saved myself from so many conferences because the parents know how their child is acting in class because they can see it. It takes some time to figure out to effectively implement for you, but is well worth it!!!

I love ClassDojo! I think its versatility is endless…just depends on the creativity of the teacher behind it. My favorite thing is, as you said, parents are directly connected for some truly meaningful two-way conversation and a peek into what’s happening in class.